Note(s) | The Maréchal Joffre cruiser of the Messageries Maritimes was the last ship to leave Shanghai after the communist takeover. It had been launched on 14 May 1931 in La Ciotat and assigned to the Indian Ocean, then the Far East line until 1937, first from Marseille March 3, 1933. In June 1940, it remained in Saigon to ensure regional routes. It continued to provide commercial service until 7 December 1941, when, after Pearl Harbor, it was requisitioned by th French government in Manila and made available to the U.S. Navy. In April 1942, it was armed and converted intoan evacuation ship under the name of U.S. Navy ROCHAMBEAU (hull No. AP63). It was refurbished in the shipyards of San Francisco between April and September 1942. Between October 1942 and February 1945, the ship made five trips across the Pacific, carrying troops and equipment and to ship wounded soldiers on its way back. It restored its original name and came back under French flag in April 1945. It was used to transport troops to Indochina until March 1950. It was the first ship to reach Haiphong in July 1946. It is completely overhauled in La Ciotat between March 1950 and September 1951, after which it was returned to commercial service on the line of the Indian Ocean, then in the Mediterranean Sea in 1953. Later on, it was again be assigned sometimes to the Far East, sometimes to the Indian Ocean. . It ended its career on the North Africa line in 1957. Eventually it was sold for demolition on 19 January 19 1960 in Osaka. [Source: http://www.messageries-maritimes.org/maljof.htm] |